Kent: Cash For New Primaries

Kent has been awarded an extra £31m pounds of government funding to create new school places.

This tops up the government funding already received this year and adds to the investment already being provided by the county council. Communities in every part of the county will benefit from the extra school places being created.

The additional money from the Department for Education has come through 'Targeted Basic Need' funding, designed to help build new schools and expand existing ones.

KCC had applied for funding for 26 projects and were successful with 19 of them - bringing in £31.47m. This will help with the cost of building five brand new primary schools and expanding 14 other schools across Kent.

Under the terms of the government funding, all the places created with this money will be ready by September 2015.

In parallel with these 19 schools, there are almost 50 other Kent schools involved in the expansion programme to create more places for Kent pupils.

Plans are in place to create up to a further 25 primary classes by September 2014 - while for 2015 up to 30 more primary classes will be created, dependent on the pace of some housing developments.

A further secondary school class will be created by September 2014 and eight more secondary school classes in 2015.

Roger Gough, Cabinet member for Education and Health Reform at KCC, said; "This funding boost is great news for Kent. Five new schools will be built in the north, east and west of the county.

"Many other projects will provide much-needed investment and new buildings to schools in towns and villages where the places are needed. And the investment means that it will be possible to provide extra spaces in our vitally important special schools.

"As part of a long-term commitment to school places, I want us to be expanding good, successful schools and aiming to provide a place in a good local school for every child in Kent "